Indoor Duck Questions...

jemjdragon said:

I agree with duckdad. It is like taking care of small children. I have one duck and have only had her for 4 months, so I do not have a lot of informtion. Best advice is to research everything you can about ducks, indoor or outdoor. My duck has an out doorarea she can hangout in when I'm not at home. It is a "duck house" that we built so she can have an area to run around in the fresh air but still be safe from predators and rain.

She likes to stick her beak into anything and everything. She is always curious and needs to check everything out. So duck proofing places is a must. Basically the way I see it is that anything that needs to be baby proofed or pet proofed should be duck proofed. They are messy eaters/drinkers. I solved that problem by putting her bowl of food and bowl of water in a single tub which are slightly taller than the bowls themselves. And when you get bowls try to look for something that can't tip over easily. Keep in mind that ducks will need grit to digest some of the food you offer and if you get females, you will need to offer crushed oyster shell to help give them enough calcium to produce egg shells. My duck wears duck diapers indoors. They lack the muscle that allows them to hold it in so when they have to go they just go. Because they grow so quickly though I did not buy a diaper till she was full grown. When she was a baby she stayed in a pen. I would still take her out and hold her and let her wander the house sometimes but have to clean duck poop after unless I covered the area she was exploring with towels. At night when she goes to bed I put her in a pet carrier. I have a bowl that attaches to the door of the carrier which I fill with water.

Do not let them have access to cat litter. Like mentioned before, they may play in it and I'd be worried they may eat it for the grit. I'm not sure if cat nip is okay for ducks. I raised my duck with my cats and dogs. When she was a baby I didn't let them interact so much because she was small and I was worried they would hurt her. As she got older and bigger, they got to interact more fequently with her. She basically bosses them around now. I still will not let her be with them without supervision because cats and dogs are still predators and even innocent play can result in problems.

I can't really give you more advise though I'm sure someone with more experience will help out.

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